Are you looking to enter the food market with your next franchise? Would you love to get involved with an exciting self-serve concept that will have people raving about your new business venture? At Yogurtland, customers get the opportunity to serve themselves with a wide variety of flavors and fresh toppings. They control the portion sizes, they control the servings, and you control the quality of the experience they receive. If you’re ready for a partner organization that searches the world for new ingredients and fresh ideas, then this is the opportunity for you.
How good is this investment opportunity? What is the initial investment costs that you can be expected to pay? And will you receive the right level of support so you can experience the level of success you deserve with this kind of opportunity? Let’s take a look.
What Is the Initial Investment Cost?
Your investment into a Yogurtland franchise opportunity begins with the franchise fee, which is $35k. It is required upon the signing of the franchise agreement and is a non-refundable and non-negotiable fee. Most franchisees experience a build-up cost of about $350k as they prepare their new franchise for its grand opening. This includes signage costs for a company-approved location, initial supplies that include purchasing proprietary frozen yogurt products directly from Yogurtland, and other supplies that must come from an approved vendor list.
Yogurtland has a recommended store minimum size of 1,000 square feet. The Design and Construction team will approve smaller locations or help with locations above 1,500 square feet under special circumstances so that the right location has the right size to accommodate the traffic that may be coming into the new location.
Once the site and build-up has been approved, there is an ongoing 6% royalty that is required of all franchisees that comes from the monthly gross sales your business generates. Yogurtland also requires an ongoing 2% marketing fee that also comes from the gross monthly sales. The entire process of approval takes about 2-4 weeks to accomplish and once a site is selected and approved, it generally takes about 10 weeks to achieve a grand opening.
In order to qualify as a franchisee, you’ll need to be able to prove a net worth of at least $400k. Out of this network, a minimum of 50% must be in the form of liquid assets, or a minimum of $200k. The franchise fee and these net worth minimums apply on a per-unit basis, so multiple units will need to duplicate these amounts in order to quality – a three unit agreement, for example, would be a franchise fee of $105k.
In return, you’ll be joining an organization that has tripled in size over the last three years and has developed an international presence as well. All markets, including international markets, are open for development. There is an emphasis on Texas, Florida, and Colorado for this franchise, however, so precedence will be given to potential franchisees in these specific locations.
What Kind of Support Is Received?
Once you sign the franchise agreement, your support begins with a week of training at Yogurtland’s headquarters. You’ll go through the operations manual, view training videos, and be able to take these training materials with you to develop staff consistency.
The construction and design team will work with your location to get contractors creating a consistent outcome that works with the theme Yogurtland incorporates in all of their locations. This organization has a dedicated staff of field support specialists whose sole job is the help you build, strategize, and execute your business plan on a local level. This field support includes multiple levels of administrative support, including regional managers, training managers, and field marketing specialists.
Yogurtland also offers new franchisees a system and multiple tools to get their new location into operations compliance. Regular visits will help provide consistency in the customer experience, the quality of the frozen yogurt product, and the freshness of the ingredients.
There’s a national ad fund that supports PR, social mediate, and local store marketing support all in one comprehensive package. You’ll receive brand tools and a complete communication package, plus proven tactics that create a buzz for your grand opening. There is a population requirement of at least 50,000 people within a 5 minute drive of the new location and you must have 18 feet of frontage at minimum and patio seating is preferred.
How Good Is This Investment Opportunity?
Frozen yogurt is considered a healthier treat than other dessert options, which means you’ll enter the healthy eating market for many consumers. This will naturally give you an advantage, even if the initial store placement requirements are quite extensive. The initial investment is in-line with other similar opportunities and you’ll gain a secondary advantage with their national advertising emphasis that is working to improve brand saturation.
The one concern with this level of investment is that the initial agreement is only for 5 years. There are two 5 year renewal options, but there are other opportunities with similar levels of investment that offer more security and longer terms. It gives you an out if you feel like you need it, but it may also mean your investment levels are higher here than in other opportunities.
People do love the self-serve concept, however, and this works to your advantage. You won’t have to worry about your employees serving customers because they’ll be controlling portion sizes. This reduces the levels of complaints received naturally while increasing overall satisfaction and that’s a good thing to have in the food industry.
If you want to stay away from the typical QSR concept, but still want to provide your community with a food product that it is going to like, then this is an investment opportunity worth considering. If you have a passion for sweet treats and world class customer service, then consider starting the mutual vetting process today to get your new business venture up and running.
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